長崎県立大学東アジア研究所『東アジア評論』第10号（2018．3） 〈研究論文〉 The Changes of Forestry Trade Development in Western Fujian and the Influences on Ecological Environment＊ Lianfang WANG† Jing LIU‡ Abstract: The special mountain terrain in Western Fujian created a rich forest resources, and derived the forestry trade as the main way for the survival and development. With the society changes, forestry trade in western Fujian occurred changes from prosperity to decline, from blindness to orderliness, and forest ecosystem also experienced a interconversion between the balance and imbalance. The forestry trade development brought great changes to the ecological environment in Western Fujian. At the same time, from the ecological environment changes caused by development of forestry trade in Western Fujian, we can also learn the experiences from the interaction between ecology and society. Key Words: Western Fujian; Longyan; Forestry Trade; Ecological Environment Western Fujian is known as Longyan area which is listed as national key protection, accounted for 49% of located in the southwest of Fujian Province and is 150 rare plant varieties in Fujian, so Western Fujian is called kilometers apart from the sea channel. As the region is the green ”treasure bowl”1. For the region is located in located in the Tropic of Cancer, the climate is mild and it the mountains, more mountain and less field is the basic is like spring all the year around. The mountain soil is ecological condition restriction. Because of the red soil and yellow soil for the most part and it is suitable restriction, farmers in Western Fujian began to focus on for plant growth particularly, so there is very rich of and used the rich forest resources very early. The forest resources in this region. For a long time, Western forestry trade development in Western Fujian has Fujian has always been one of the three major forest experienced the changes from prosperity to decline, and areas in Fujian Province, of which five counties (districts) of the forestry development changes has led to the are listed as national forestry emphasis counties. In the ecological environment changes in this region. This rich forest resources, there are 38 kinds of rare plants paper analyzes the characteristics of forestry * Fund Project: the soft science project of Science and Technology Department of Fujian Province in 2017 year: < Study on the Effective Utilization and Advantages Keeping of Ecological Resources in Western Fujian Under the Green Development Concept >(2017 R 0078); Project of Central Soviet Area Research Institute of LongYan University in 2015 year: <Study on the Soviet Society Under the Dimension of Ecological Change in Western Fujian>(LS 2015023) † Associate professor of the College of Marxism LongYan University, Post doctoral research in the School of History and Culture, Shandong University. ‡ Lecturer of Hebei Software Institute. －95－ 長崎県立大学東アジア研究所『東アジア評論』第10号（2018．3） development from the changes of forestry trade in Longyan county, 16 villages in Zhangping county, 16 Western Fujian and discusses the influences on the local villages in Ninghua county, 29 villages in Qingliu county, ecological environment. 47 villages in Mingxi county, which is widely distributed. The wood that these places produced was more than 1.5 million annually3. However, since the 1930s, due to the 1. Development and Changes of Forestry political turmoil in Western Fujian, ”the old verdant TradeinWesternFujian forest area become the place that the bandits gethered”, The forestry trade mainly concentrated on the and coupled with the loss of timber overseas market, as exploit of forest resources and the related handicraft the same time the domestic market was excluded by the industry, such as Chinese fir, saw board, local paper and imported building materials such as foreign wood and other related industries. As early as the Ming and Qing plum and so on, then the market of the wood in Western Dynasties, by the unique forest resources, forestry trade Fujian became tighter. Forestry trade entered the has appeared a scene of prosperity in Western Fujian. In decline period with an annual output of nearly a million the early 20th century, the forestry trade developed trees yet. rapidly in Western Fujian under the stimulus of market Modern times, Chinese economy has also been a demand. The description of the forestry trade, certain development even be given the aggression and Changting county “connected many areas by the Ting oppression by the capitalist countries. The timber river, and the merchants were in an endless stream”, in market demand growthed rapidly due to the domestic the Tingzhou municipal “the merchants from Anhui and international economic stimulus. According to bought the mountain and southands of wood were cut <China Economic Book> ”Chinese mainland building down every time”. “Fir, books paper, and part of Yanshi materials probably were from Fujian”. Thus ”the main Huanglian paper were transported by Jiulong river from goods that the merchants in the upper reaches of Wanan and Baisha, and were sold in Punan and Shima. It Minjiang River upstream sold was wood”4.Mostofthe is an economic system and known as the “Wenheguan timber industry in Fujian originated from the rich forest Consortium””2. With the rapid development of forestry resources in Western Fujian, and the forestry trade here trade, Western Fujian area gradually formed the became prosperous. In the early years of the Republic of corresponding commercial gangs, such as wood gang, China, the timber market was extremely active at the and local paper gang. they spread to the areas such as peak of timber industry in Changting, Liancheng, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hebei, Jiangsu and so on, Shanghang, Yongding and Wuping counties of Western then built the guild hall. Fujian. Only Liancheng and Wuping two counties, the In the 1920s, the forestry trade of Western Fujian annual output of the wood was more than 1 million. the entered the prosperous period. There are many places output of the whole forest zone is as high as more than 4 where the wood is rich, including 18 villages in million yuan5. Changting county, 68 villages in Liancheng county, 92 With the rapid development of forestry trade, the villages in Wu Ping county, 42 villages in Shanghang exploit and utilization of forest resources in Western county, 46 villages in Yongding county, 43 villages in Fujian is more serious. In Shanghai, the timber －96－ The Changes of Forestry Trade Development in Western Fujian and the Influences on Ecological Environment merchants of Fujian ”set up woodern factory and now, after more than ten years of improvement and woodern industry for oprating and trading along the protection, the forest ecosystem in Western Fujian has Huangpu River bank, from the east to the south of the been restored gradually. The ecosysem is not good as city. Among them the big merchants owned thirty of before, but the improvement and protection already them. We can see the prosperity development of the made a great contribution to the ecological environment timber industry at that time. Most income of people in in Western Fujian. Western Fujian was from the forestry trade, forestry developed rapidly and the timber output rose sharply by 2. Characteristics of Forestry Trade the influence of this trade environment. The forestry Development in Western Fujian trade continued to develop and progress. In the mountainous areas of Western Fujian, the tree species With the advantaged forest resources, the forestry that constitute forest resources such as pine, camphor, trade development promotes the economy development phoebe, padauk, lacquer, vernicia fordi, Eucalyptus, rapidly in Western Fujian. Meanwhile, the development vertebrae, beech, boxwood and so on, without manual of forestry trade also has its own characteristics. intervention, cutting and growing freely, but the Chinese First, the forestry has been exploited without fir was more easy to plant which is cultivated artificially. thinking. The economy in Western Fujian developed In the early years of the Republic China, the decline rapidly in modern China, but at the same time, because of the timber industry in Tingjiang River Basin was not of the lacking of ecological consciousness, the serious, and it did not affect the sustainable development exploitation and utilization of forest resources was of the timber industry in Fujian. However, after the obviously predatory exploiting. The average population Republic of China the timber industry was declining. density in Western Fujian is far lower than that of Fujian After the founding of new China, the new changes have Province. With much land and few people, but more taken place in forestry resources of Western Fujian. The mountain and less arable and the poor quality of arable establishment of the new China means that China land in Western Fujian, so per capita arable land is very entered the period which is development first from less. The local literature often portrayed the land of turbulent period, in the view of people in Western Fujian Western Fujian as ”narrow soil and less land”, or ”barren then the development should be started from the soil”. As a result, the population pressure in Western advantaged resources. The forestry resources as Fujian is still rather serious for the land. It was the advantaged resouce in the local areas became the enormous pressure of the land that the local people optimistic development capital. In the era of lacking of turned their attention to the mountain forest and began ecological awareness, the emergence of deforestation to make predatory expoiting. The vast wood land not are naturally. Therefore, in recent decades, Western only provides a lot of wood for people, but also provides a Fujian has achieved some economic development wide variety of forest products, such as tea-oil tree, results, but at the same time, such as the utilizing way fordii, turpentine, dried bamboo shoots medicine and so the climate change the pest incidence and so on caused on.